I. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a braking system, and in particular, to a trailer braking system for use with a fifth wheel hitch, a gooseneck hitch, or the like, having a surge brake actuator.
II. Description of Relevant Prior Art
Gooseneck hitches use a hitch ball to lock into place, while fifth wheel hitches use a wheel-shaped mounted plate to accomplish the connection.
Unlike regular hitches that generally extend from the back of the tow vehicle to couple to a horizontally-mounted hitch coupler provided on the trailer, gooseneck hitches, and the closely-related fifth wheel hitches, are typically anchored to a hitch on the tow vehicle via a fixed arm member extending downward from an upper portion of the gooseneck trailer. These hitching systems enable the trailers to be able to make tighter turns than the ones that connect off the back of the tow vehicle.
FIG. 1(a) shows a typical gooseneck trailer 140 being pulled by a tow vehicle 150 via a typical gooseneck trailer hitch system 100. Here, the tow vehicle 150 may be a flatbed pick-up truck. FIG. 1(b) shows in more detail the typical gooseneck hitch system 100 which includes a hitch ball 110 mounted to frame rails 120 attached to a tow vehicle 150. The hitch ball 110 may be releaseably mounted to the frame rails 120 by a locking mechanism. The hitch ball 110 couples to a fixed arm member 145 of a trailer 140.
When a fifth wheel or gooseneck trailer is being towed behind a vehicle and the tow vehicle applies its brakes or otherwise decelerates, the trailer may continue to travel forward due to forward momentum of the trailer. This forward momentum causes inertial forces that can damage the hitch, the tow vehicle, and/or the trailer.